{"id":583,"date":"2023-02-24T12:31:11","date_gmt":"2023-02-24T12:31:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/?p=583"},"modified":"2023-02-24T12:31:11","modified_gmt":"2023-02-24T12:31:11","slug":"our-rural-future-minister-humphreys-announces-e2-4-million-to-develop-70-new-walking-trails","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/2023\/02\/24\/our-rural-future-minister-humphreys-announces-e2-4-million-to-develop-70-new-walking-trails\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Rural Future: Minister Humphreys announces \u20ac2.4 million to develop 70 new walking trails"},"content":{"rendered":"

Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, has today (Friday, 24th<\/sup>\u00a0February) announced funding of \u20ac2.4 million to develop 70 new walking trails across the country.<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

<\/u>\u00a0<\/u><\/p>\n

The major expansion of the Department\u2019s Walks Scheme will see the number of outdoor trails increase from 80 to 150 over the next two years.<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

<\/u>\u00a0<\/u><\/p>\n

The initiative is designed to boost outdoor recreation and rural tourism and will see the Scheme work with over 2,500 farmers to open up the countryside to walkers, hikers cyclists and tourists.<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

<\/u>\u00a0<\/u><\/p>\n

Under the Walks Scheme, funding is provided to farmers and other landowners to maintain the trails that travel through their holdings.<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

<\/u>\u00a0<\/u><\/p>\n

At present, 2,200 farmers or landowners are participating \u2013 with Minister Humphreys today opening up a new call for expressions of interest.<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

<\/u>\u00a0<\/u><\/p>\n

The major expansion of the Scheme is a key commitment of the new\u00a0National Outdoor Recreation Strategy<\/a>, \u2018Embracing Ireland\u2019s Outdoors<\/i><\/b>\u2019.<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

<\/u>\u00a0<\/u><\/p>\n

Making the announcement on the Lung Lough Gara Way in Castlerea, Co. Roscommon, Minister Humphreys stated:<\/u><\/u><\/b><\/p>\n

<\/u>\u00a0<\/u><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cOur walkways and outdoor trails showcase the unique beauty of our rural towns and villages.<\/u><\/u><\/i><\/p>\n

<\/u>\u00a0<\/u><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cThey attract millions of visitors every single year and provide people of all ages with the opportunity to get out for some exercise and fresh air.<\/u><\/u><\/i><\/p>\n

<\/u>\u00a0<\/u><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cSo today, I\u2019m delighted to announce a major expansion of my Department\u2019s \u2018Walks Scheme\u2019 \u2013 which we expect will see an additional 70 trails brought on board.<\/u><\/u><\/i><\/p>\n

<\/u>\u00a0<\/u><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is all about partnering with farmers and landowners to open up the countrywide \u2013 benefitting our walkers, hikers, cyclists and tourists alike.<\/u><\/u><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/u><\/u><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are already 2,200 farmers and landowners involved in the scheme and I want to thank them for facilitating access to these fantastic trails.<\/u><\/u><\/i><\/p>\n

<\/u>\u00a0<\/u><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cThe scheme\u2019s expansion, underpinned by an investment of \u20ac2.4 million, will see the number of trails increase to 150 over the next two years.\u201d<\/u><\/u><\/i><\/p>\n

<\/u>\u00a0<\/u><\/p>\n

The Minister concluded:<\/u><\/u><\/b><\/p>\n

<\/u>\u00a0<\/u><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cToday, I am formally launching a call for expressions of interest as part of this initiative.<\/u><\/u><\/i><\/p>\n

<\/u>\u00a0<\/u><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cI want this expansion to focus on counties which have few or no trails approved under the Walks Scheme.<\/u><\/u><\/i><\/p>\n

<\/u>\u00a0<\/u><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to balance development and ensure that all counties have high quality trails for tourists and local communities alike.<\/u><\/u><\/i><\/p>\n

<\/u>\u00a0<\/u><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cI am also committed to reviewing the number of Rural Recreation Officers currently funded by my Department to deliver the Walks Scheme, particularly where a county is approved a trail under the Scheme and where there is currently no Rural Recreation Officer in place.<\/u><\/u><\/i><\/p>\n

<\/u>\u00a0<\/u><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cI would therefore encourage potential applicants such as trail management committees, community groups or other similar entities to contact their nearest Local Development Company to make an expression of interest for inclusion in the scheme.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, has today (Friday, 24th\u00a0February) announced funding of \u20ac2.4 million to develop 70 new walking trails across the country. \u00a0 The major expansion of the Department\u2019s Walks Scheme will see the number of outdoor trails increase from 80 to 150 over the next two years. \u00a0 The…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":535,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-3","description-off"],"yoast_head":"\nOur Rural Future: Minister Humphreys announces \u20ac2.4 million to develop 70 new walking trails - Diplomat.ie<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/2023\/02\/24\/our-rural-future-minister-humphreys-announces-e2-4-million-to-develop-70-new-walking-trails\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Our Rural Future: Minister Humphreys announces \u20ac2.4 million to develop 70 new walking trails - Diplomat.ie\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, has today (Friday, 24th\u00a0February) announced funding of \u20ac2.4 million to develop 70 new walking trails across the country. \u00a0 The major expansion of the Department\u2019s Walks Scheme will see the number of outdoor trails increase from 80 to 150 over the next two years. \u00a0 The…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/2023\/02\/24\/our-rural-future-minister-humphreys-announces-e2-4-million-to-develop-70-new-walking-trails\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Diplomat.ie\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-02-24T12:31:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/diplomat.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/heather_humphreys_thumbnail.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"919\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1181\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"No1Diplomat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"No1Diplomat\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/2023\/02\/24\/our-rural-future-minister-humphreys-announces-e2-4-million-to-develop-70-new-walking-trails\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/2023\/02\/24\/our-rural-future-minister-humphreys-announces-e2-4-million-to-develop-70-new-walking-trails\/\",\"name\":\"Our Rural Future: Minister Humphreys announces \u20ac2.4 million to develop 70 new walking trails - Diplomat.ie\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/2023\/02\/24\/our-rural-future-minister-humphreys-announces-e2-4-million-to-develop-70-new-walking-trails\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/2023\/02\/24\/our-rural-future-minister-humphreys-announces-e2-4-million-to-develop-70-new-walking-trails\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/heather_humphreys_thumbnail.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-02-24T12:31:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/#\/schema\/person\/d749373102f61a4fa79486b27250a9b0\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/2023\/02\/24\/our-rural-future-minister-humphreys-announces-e2-4-million-to-develop-70-new-walking-trails\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/2023\/02\/24\/our-rural-future-minister-humphreys-announces-e2-4-million-to-develop-70-new-walking-trails\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/2023\/02\/24\/our-rural-future-minister-humphreys-announces-e2-4-million-to-develop-70-new-walking-trails\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/heather_humphreys_thumbnail.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/heather_humphreys_thumbnail.jpg\",\"width\":919,\"height\":1181},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/2023\/02\/24\/our-rural-future-minister-humphreys-announces-e2-4-million-to-develop-70-new-walking-trails\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Our Rural Future: Minister Humphreys announces \u20ac2.4 million to develop 70 new walking trails\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/\",\"name\":\"Diplomat.ie\",\"description\":\"Ireland's Diplomatic News Site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/#\/schema\/person\/d749373102f61a4fa79486b27250a9b0\",\"name\":\"No1Diplomat\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a33c05b239c97263fe073bc3902bb13adceb67fd301bcc257628f3ce3c62c6b2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a33c05b239c97263fe073bc3902bb13adceb67fd301bcc257628f3ce3c62c6b2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"No1Diplomat\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/diplomat.ie\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/author\/no1diplomat\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Our Rural Future: Minister Humphreys announces \u20ac2.4 million to develop 70 new walking trails - Diplomat.ie","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/2023\/02\/24\/our-rural-future-minister-humphreys-announces-e2-4-million-to-develop-70-new-walking-trails\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Our Rural Future: Minister Humphreys announces \u20ac2.4 million to develop 70 new walking trails - Diplomat.ie","og_description":"Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, has today (Friday, 24th\u00a0February) announced funding of \u20ac2.4 million to develop 70 new walking trails across the country. \u00a0 The major expansion of the Department\u2019s Walks Scheme will see the number of outdoor trails increase from 80 to 150 over the next two years. \u00a0 The…","og_url":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/2023\/02\/24\/our-rural-future-minister-humphreys-announces-e2-4-million-to-develop-70-new-walking-trails\/","og_site_name":"Diplomat.ie","article_published_time":"2023-02-24T12:31:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":919,"height":1181,"url":"http:\/\/diplomat.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/heather_humphreys_thumbnail.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"No1Diplomat","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"No1Diplomat","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/2023\/02\/24\/our-rural-future-minister-humphreys-announces-e2-4-million-to-develop-70-new-walking-trails\/","url":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/2023\/02\/24\/our-rural-future-minister-humphreys-announces-e2-4-million-to-develop-70-new-walking-trails\/","name":"Our Rural Future: Minister Humphreys announces \u20ac2.4 million to develop 70 new walking trails - Diplomat.ie","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/2023\/02\/24\/our-rural-future-minister-humphreys-announces-e2-4-million-to-develop-70-new-walking-trails\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/2023\/02\/24\/our-rural-future-minister-humphreys-announces-e2-4-million-to-develop-70-new-walking-trails\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/heather_humphreys_thumbnail.jpg","datePublished":"2023-02-24T12:31:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/#\/schema\/person\/d749373102f61a4fa79486b27250a9b0"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/2023\/02\/24\/our-rural-future-minister-humphreys-announces-e2-4-million-to-develop-70-new-walking-trails\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/2023\/02\/24\/our-rural-future-minister-humphreys-announces-e2-4-million-to-develop-70-new-walking-trails\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/2023\/02\/24\/our-rural-future-minister-humphreys-announces-e2-4-million-to-develop-70-new-walking-trails\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/heather_humphreys_thumbnail.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/heather_humphreys_thumbnail.jpg","width":919,"height":1181},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/2023\/02\/24\/our-rural-future-minister-humphreys-announces-e2-4-million-to-develop-70-new-walking-trails\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Our Rural Future: Minister Humphreys announces \u20ac2.4 million to develop 70 new walking trails"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/#website","url":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/","name":"Diplomat.ie","description":"Ireland's Diplomatic News Site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/#\/schema\/person\/d749373102f61a4fa79486b27250a9b0","name":"No1Diplomat","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a33c05b239c97263fe073bc3902bb13adceb67fd301bcc257628f3ce3c62c6b2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a33c05b239c97263fe073bc3902bb13adceb67fd301bcc257628f3ce3c62c6b2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"No1Diplomat"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/diplomat.ie"],"url":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/author\/no1diplomat\/"}]}},"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/heather_humphreys_thumbnail.jpg",919,1181,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/heather_humphreys_thumbnail.jpg",919,1181,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/heather_humphreys_thumbnail.jpg",919,1181,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/heather_humphreys_thumbnail-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/heather_humphreys_thumbnail-233x300.jpg",233,300,true],"large":["https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/heather_humphreys_thumbnail-797x1024.jpg",797,1024,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/heather_humphreys_thumbnail.jpg",919,1181,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/heather_humphreys_thumbnail.jpg",919,1181,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"No1Diplomat","author_link":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/author\/no1diplomat\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/category\/latest-news\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Latest News<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, has today (Friday, 24th\u00a0February) announced funding of \u20ac2.4 million to develop 70 new walking trails across the country. \u00a0 The major expansion of the Department\u2019s Walks Scheme will see the number of outdoor trails increase from 80 to 150 over the next two years. \u00a0 The…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=583"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":584,"href":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583\/revisions\/584"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomat.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}